Dancing Tuesday, Mayfaire

On Monday, February 22, guitar students will have class as usual. Many students took their guitars home; please make sure they are back at school. Please also confirm that your student still possesses Rise Up Singing.

By contrast, 4th through 6th graders may leave their stringed instruments at home on Tuesday. We will be devoting our 4th and 5/6 class times to dancing with Walter Dill (he is leading the community dance on Friday). If one ever wants to be a fiddle player, dancing is essential; it is helpful to musicians of all sorts, so I am more than pleased to offer this alternative class on Tuesday.

Confessions of a first year strings teacher

When I filled in for this position, I made many assumptions based upon my experiences as a public school student who played the violin. I realize some of my assumptions were wrong, and I want to list them here to avoid confusion. Despite this, our instrumental program seems strong.

A. I was incorrect when I thought the grades teachers could pack in orchestra practice time with everything else our rich curriculum has to offer (the exception being guitar students working with the recorders). Unlike my own school experience, every element of the Waldorf day is important, so it becomes clear that other elements would be lost if teachers had practice time in class every day. Unless your class teacher tells you differently, your child only needs the instrument in school on days of class with me.

B. For similar reasons, I realized that even if I had the time (which I only had in theory), to pull students out of class for extra small or group lessons during the day was depriving them of valuable experiences with their class. We did this a few times; I do not expect to do this again. For students who need extra help, I will recommend lessons outside of school time (I would be willing to be one of these teachers at the standard rate). Because we also received a grant for free lessons, it seems much more reasonable to expect parents to find the help outside of school time.

C. To teach fiddle tunes by ear does not work so well in a mixed ensemble. It is not fair to the violas and cellos. If I lowered everything a 5th, it wouldn't be so fair to the violins and would not sound so great. I love the mixed ensemble, so I am not wishing the cellos and violas away; I am just noting that it does not work so well to teach by ear.

D. Not really a false assumption, just a clarification. I am a trained early childhood teacher who happens to love music, and I think I have been a good fit for the instrumental program. I am also the nursery and parent & child teacher, and on the upcoming assembly and Easter Festival, my responsibilities will be in early childhood, so I will not be preparing the strings or guitar students to perform at these two events.

That being said, with the break, spring will move quickly, and we will work on long programs for Mayfaire and the final assembly. Here is a preview.

Mayfaire

We expect all 4th to 8th grade students to attend Mayfaire with their instruments. This is a mandatory performance. With the possible (but also not possible) exception of the guitar students, I will expect students to play without sheet music. As with Michaelmas, I find outdoor performances work so much better when we are not relying upon stands and music books that can be blown about by the wind. Playing by memory or ear is an important and useful skill.

4th grade

A number of the songs in Smart Violin work well as dance tunes. We will keep working through the book and likely accompany 3rd or other grade dancers with songs such as Diddle Fiddle, Hilltop Stomp, Perfect Day for Playing, and others. We have lots of time to prepare. We will also play the other songs, in order, in Smart Violin.

5th & 6th grade

I have ordered Fiddler's Philharmonic for all the students in 5th & 6th grade. It should come in next week. It scores fiddle tunes for full orchestra and has more challenging and easier parts. The book costs $8 per student. Although my letter at the beginning of the year stated I might ask parents to buy two books, I will allow students to borrow and return the book (with no writing and good condition). I recommend that you purchase book; your student's private teacher can make marks, and your student will have a useful book of tunes looking ahead.

It was challenging in the fall to keep track of money going two places. To make it easier, I will put a 5/6 roster up at the base of the tower. When you put your check to WIWS or cash for $8 in Paul's mailbox, please mark yourself off as paid next to your child's name. I will wait a few weeks and then use this list to collect back unpaid for books after Mayfaire.

We will try to practice every tune in the book. My vision is that rather than having adults play for the community contra dance, the 5/6 graders will play a long, long medley (we might need every song in the book). Your students rise to the occasion with challenges, and this seems just right for them.

Guitar At present I do not necessarily plan to have the guitarists accompany 5/6 or 4. I want them to be able to dance to the music played by others, and they may have responsibilities elsewhere during the fair.

I will, however, work with teachers and class parents to make sure that all the guitar students are available for 45 minutes or an hour or more to play British and Celtic folk songs such as Scarborough Fair, John Riley, Wild Mountain Thyme from Rise Up Singing to set the mood before the dancing; it will likely be a sing-along with lyrics available for parents. In past years we have had adults such as me or Elizabeth warm up the space. My plan this year is to have students playing instead.

I write you this so that you can plan. I will of course be working with the faculty and parents who are setting up Mayfaire and will make adjustments to the strings contributions to harmonize well.

With warmth and light,

William Geoffrey Dolde